a sea of beige

This week's image is a fitting metaphor for my photography right now!

Anyway, just last weekend as the year morphed from January into February, I felt able to pick up a camera and lens for the first time in a while without my ribs screaming at me.  So, I figured I'd head for the woods, fiil up the bird feeders and then photograph the little blighters as they no doubt flocked around the tasty treats I'd left for them.

But...

...not a single bird in sight.  Moreover, not even a tweet or faint whistle.  It was quite an eerie experience, and I felt a little vulnerable down there.  Still, I put these feelings to one side (I am a grown man after all), swapped out my telephoto lens for the macro one and went leafscape hunting.  

The woodland floor was awash with fallen and decaying leaves, but they were all just an anonymous beige colour.  I took note of the words I recently published in my latest e-book (Intimate Landscapes or The Art of Seeing - available to download just over there on the left...) and concentrated on capturing textures instead.

I spotted a really lovely scene with a decaying leaf lying atop a carpet of other leaf litter and decided to shoot it.  Trouble is it required focus bracketing to get everything sharp, but I didn't have my tripod with me.

So, with a deep breath and steady hand, I shot fifteen frames, twiddling the focus ring between each one until I recorded the whole scene from front to back

And I'm really happy with the image I managed to get.

Fujifilm X-H2, Fujinon 30mm f2.8 Macro
1/50th 0f a second at f5.6, ISO 125
handheld
15 image focus bracket stacked in Helicon Focus

Sometimes I amaze myself!